How I See Religion

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No one’s religion can save them. There are righteous people in wicked religions and there are wicked people in righteous religions. No one is perfect and no religion is perfect. Defining a religion is difficult because there are often different denominations, sects and offshoots of each religion and they change over time. This is my viewpoint. I make no attempt to be unbiased. I only aim to be truthful. I make no judgement on anyone who is part of any of these religions because I know people can grow and change and come to different and better understanding. Ultimately I believe people’s faith will be judged on their heart, motivations, intentions, and actions rather than their intelligence, wisdom and understanding.

Judaism – 0.2% of global population (~15–18 million)

I speak of Judaism first because Judaism is part of and influences the two largest religious groups (Christianity and Islam). Judaism is based on the Torah. Torah can signify several different things. The word literally means “Law.” It can be used to refer to the Mitzvot(613 commandments). It also can be used to refer to the first 5 books of scripture recorded by Moses or to the entire scriptures written by Israelites (Tanakh). Jews later also used it to include the Talmud or oral law which contains Rabbinic writings and commentaries. Before talking about Judaism we must also talk about what is a Jew or an Israelite. God made a covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who was renamed (Israel) regarding their descendants. Israel had 12 sons who fathered the 12 tribes of Israel. These 12 tribes became the Nation of Israel who God selected as his chosen people to be a kingdom of priests. Through their obedience or disobedience to God they were rewarded or punished. At one point the nation split into two with the northern kingdom retaining the name Israel and the southern kingdom calling itself Judah. Judah was the ruling tribe of the southern kingdom and this is where the term “Jew” comes from. The northern kingdom that retained the name “Israel” was scattered. Though the northern kingdom originally kept the name of “Israel” the southern tribes did a better job of keeping the commandments or repenting for their sins after being carried away and later reclaimed the name of Israel for their land. However, after the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus they would also be scattered. Most Israelites at the time and modern day Jews did not/do not believe that Jesus was their messiah or the Son of God. During the time since being scattered what it meant to be a Jew and how to keep the commandments changed according to Judaism. Though the scriptures originally used the paternal line to determine who the descendants of Israel are, modern day Jews use the maternal line. Also since the Jewish temple was destroyed, they could not keep the commandment of the Torah as they were written. Judaism also accepts converts who have no maternal or paternal heritage from Israel. Furthermore if you are the descendant of Jewish parents (on the maternal side, whenever they may have converted), you are also considered a Jew even if you do not practice Judaism. This creates a situation where the only descendants of Israel which would be recognized as such by modern day Judaism and the scriptures would be those that have an unbroken maternal and paternal line. Hence, most who are recognized as Jews are not true descendants of Israel. This is problematic because Jewish theology relies on them being God’s chosen people, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Israel) and everyone else being beneath them. So even the most dedicated religious Jews do not/ cannot keep all the Mitzvot. They do not believe that any non-Jew, as they define being Jewish today, receives salvation. They discriminate based on a standard they did not and do not hold themselves to, and have redefined what it is to be an Israelite or Jew. Meanwhile neither they nor anyone can truly prove who the majority of the bloodline descendants of Judah or Israel are. The majority rejected God’s law and The Messiah. There is only a remnant left.

 

Christianity – 31% of global population (~2.4 billion)

Christianity is the largest religion and there are many denominations and beliefs. Some Christians may not consider other Christians true Christians or they may not consider their branch of Christianity to be Christian. However, the unifying factor is being a follower of Christ’s teachings and believing he died for your sins. How that looks for each person or organization varies. Some have beliefs that are in direct contradiction to others that put them at odds. I don’t know a denomination or person that is perfect.

Catholicism

Catholicism is the largest denomination of Christianity and sees itself as the universal church. It was founded by Rome after persecuting the early Christians. Catholicism stemmed largely from Rome’s efforts to control Christians. Romans were responsible for executing Jesus yet ended up founding the largest Christian Church. Even after persecution and execution Rome could not stop the spread of Christianity through the Roman empire. Since the beginning Rome and by extension the Catholic church has played a dual role. By trying to end the teaching of the Jesus they have been the biggest tool of it spreading. Once they fail, they realign to try to control the narrative and it has continued like this for centuries. Rome burned people at the stake for having bibles only causing more people to wonder what is in the bible that could be so dangerous they were willing to kill to stop it from being read. Once they could no longer stop it they spread their translation of the bible so they could control the narrative. They later created the “catycism” to further try to control the official narrative of how the bible should be understood. Rome crucified the Messiah and then made the cross the symbol widely used to represent Christianity. Catholicism is a religion of profound irony. It is filled with vestiges of pagan symbolism, idolatry and holidays repurposed to Christian ideals. The Catholic church and Pope claim to be the vicar or embodiment of Christ and that this authority was passed down from Peter, but this is not true. Catholicism has been a means of controlling the masses, selling salvation, misrepresenting Christianity and intertwining the power of the government. The hypocrisy of the Catholic church gave birth to other churches and is one of the biggest reason’s for criticism of Christianity as a whole. They still play both sides, being involved in war but also doing charity, spreading false doctrine but sparking people’s interest to study the scriptures on their own. The Catholic church stands as an example of how God can use evil intention for the greater good.

Orthodoxy

The Orthodox church is similar to Catholicism but without a pope and priests are allowed to marry. There are other doctrinal differences as well. They are closer to the truth of the bible than the Catholic church but still have elements of idolatry and paganism intertwined. Similarly it has been used by Government to control the narrative of the gospel. It is in a sense the first protestant religion i.e. protesting against the doctrine of the Catholic church and the Pope.

Protestantism

Protestantism is an umbrella term in Christianity that covers a large number of denominations. Martin Luther is considered the father of Protestantism. He was a monk in the Catholic church who was disillusioned with its corruption, specifically the selling of indulgences (sins) by the Catholic church and the Pope’s authority. He believed that the bible was the only authority and that salvation was not through payment or merit as the Catholic church was preaching but only through faith. He influenced other protestants who would come later. He believed there were only two sacraments that should be observed, baptism and the Lord’s supper. Martin Luther also rejected many of the holidays influenced by paganism but other protestant churches would later re-adopt them. Protestantism was a strict in the beginning but now is not well defined. There are too many branches and denominations to name, including non-denominational. This is both good and bad considering each church is free to interpret the scriptures as they believe and can agree upon, but this also leaves room for the worst of those that call themselves Christian to pervert it. When someone says Christian and they don’t specify they are usually referring to a protestant belief set. Protestants may be the closest to strict biblical interpretation or the furthest away.

Mormonism

Mormonism is also known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Many would not consider this a Christian religion. Though they hold the bible as an inspired text, they put more emphasis on the book of Mormon which a man named Joseph Smith said was given to him by an angel. This book recounts the story of a people from the Americas and believe this is a later revelation. However, the history told in the book of Mormon has been disproven and the people spoken about in it never existed. The places where they supposedly lived were inhabited by other people and is well documented. Mormons are generally considered conservative people but they are also heavily involved with the occult and Joseph Smith was a Mason. Masonic symbology plays heavily in the imagery of the Mormons.

Black Hebrew Israelites

The Black Hebrew Israelites is another religion of profound irony and hypocrisy. It had it’s origins around 1880 from Frank Cherry who had a vision that Black people were the original Israelites. There are several different sects or camps that identify as Black Hebrew Israelites, Hebrew Israelites or just Israelites. They have gained more notoriety since the late 1970s from a leader who called himself Yahweh Ben Yahweh. They have been getting more attention in the recent decade through YouTube and social media and are known for preaching loudly on street corners and cursing people. Some believe only in the Old Testament, some believe in both Old testament and New testament, with New Testament believers being more common recently. The foundational belief is that Black people are the true Jews, Israelites or Hebrews. They often quote Deuteronomy 28 as evidence, believing they are the only people that fit the description of the curses that are given to Israel there. They generally believe white people are evil or Edomites. They have taken on many of the characteristics of Judaism, in that they cannot verify their lineage, they have created a new way of “keeping the law”, they believe they are superior to everyone else and they believe only they can be saved. They often do not speak Hebrew but will speak select words into their own altered version of Hebrew and hold themselves as experts of the language. The ones who believe in Christ do not consider themselves Christian and often berate and condemn Christians. They depend on Christianity and Judaism for all their scriptures and nearly all their understanding of scriptures in all aspects except where it relates to identity. Many are also anti-Christ in that they commonly do not believe that Jesus was born of a virgin. The find illogical ways to deny scriptures in the New Testament that refer to the virgin birth, and salvation being available to all people. They use a modern day racial concept of being black, which is based on a one drop rule or making a visual judgement, as a criteria for being an Israelite (which was based on paternal lineage in the Old Testament and faith in the New Testament). They also commonly use the verse that refers to Jesus as having feet like burnished brass and hair like wool as evidence they are the chosen people. However having white hair or eyes like fire which is in the same passage is never used as a criteria. Jesus never used any physical characteristic as a prerequisite for salvation. Although it is clear that the Israelites were not white people, to say they were the same people as Africans makes no sense. The people of the regions around Israel also were not white people and the Israelites were scattered, meaning they intermarried among the people. Even before this, there is evidence they looked similar to the people around them, so it makes no sense to base their beliefs on being able to identify who is an Israelite by appearance or being the descendant of a slave.

Jehovah’s Witnesses

The Jehovah’s witnesses was founded by Charles Taze Russel around 1870. Jehovah’s Witnesses are generally know to be devout, strict and dedicated to preaching the gospel as they see it. They emphasize using the translated personal name of God (Jehovah). One of the main tenants is belief in paradise on earth as opposed to all believers going to heaven and disbelief in hell. They also reject the idea of the trinity and do not celebrate any pagan influenced holidays or birthdays. They do not believe in being involved in politics and minimize association with non Jehovah’s Witnesses outside of “witnessing” to them. They believe their governing body to be God’s authority on earth and believe they have a favored position with God. They believe Jesus is the only begotten son of God and was the Archangel Michael before coming to earth in human form. Jehovah’s witnesses use certain elements of Egyptology to predict future events based on the Israelites being slaves in Egypt and having participated in the construction of the pyramids. Charles Taze Russel is in fact buried with a pyramid tombstone over his grave. Much of their theology centers around “Living in the last days” and they have incorrectly predicted the approximate date of Armageddon or the end of the world several times. In times past many followers have sold their possession, quit their jobs, dropped out of school or not enrolled in college due to thinking the world was coming to an end. Many Christians do not consider them to be Christians and they make a hard distinction between themselves and “Christendom.”

Seventh Day Adventist

Seventh Day Adventist are similar in some ways to Orthodoxy however there are some foundational differences. First they believe in keeping Saturday as the Sabbath day as the day for rest and worship. They believe Ellen White to have been a prophetess and hold her writings as foundational to their religion, though they do not hold it in the same regard as the scripture. They also reject the idea of the immortal soul and hellfire. They promote vegetarianism, holistic health and healthy living. They also do not support the use of alcohol, caffeine, or tobacco. They are also involved in healthcare. They were founded by a Baptist preacher who incorrectly predicted Jesus would return between 1843 and 1844.

 

Islam – 25% of global population (~2.0 billion)

Islam was started by the Prophet Mohammed in the third century. The prophet claimed that the Quran was revealed to him by the Angel Gabriel. Muslims hold the Quran as the inspired word of God (Allah to them). Islam is split into Sunni and Shiite but the differences are is primarily to who has the authority of succession from Mohammed. These differences are inconsequential from my perspective as I do not believe Mohammed himself should be followed. Modern day Muslims will claim that Adam was a Muslim based on “Muslim” meaning one who submits to the will of God, but this makes no sense. It is like creating a religion called “Worshipers of God” today and then claiming everyone who worshiped God in the past was a part of your religion. The early parts of the Quran take from the biblical story. It then also criticizes Jews, Christians and others. Some of the criticism is deserved. However, the problem is always with how they are following or not following the scriptures, not who they are following or the scriptures themselves. The Quran confirms the previous scriptures meaning the Torah and the Gospel (injeel). However, while confirming the previous scriptures in some parts, saying that they come from God and cannot be changed, the Quran also contradicts them in other parts. So Muslims will say that those scriptures have now been corrupted. However, the Quran says they are the words of Allah and cannot be corrupted. This is what has recently come to be known as the Islamic dilemma. Only in recent years have Muslims and non-Muslims been having civilized debates on a mass scale where people are able to go into detail on these scriptures. In the past, especially in the west, we only saw Muslims televised screaming Allah Akbar! and Mohammed is his prophet! With any attempt at questioning or discussing the Quran or the prophets this would be chanted to drown it out and cause chaos. Even most Muslims had not read the Quran and all the Hadiths and are warned against questioning it. On the one hand Muslims and the Quran claim to respect Jesus (Issa) as a prophet, the Word of God, and the one who will return to judge, and they believe his spirit was delivered by an angel so that he had no earthly father. On the other hand they consider calling him the son of God to be blasphemy, and in practice they show Mohammed more respect. Meanwhile if the Quran and Hadiths are correct Mohammed was a pedophile, who was possessed by demons, advocated rape, engaged in incest, waged war and who had sex with men in the desert. The last of these things a modern day Muslim or anyone else would be executed for in a Muslim country. I’ve heard all the attempts at excuses and explanations but anyone looking at the text honestly and morally would conclude this is not a man to take spiritual advice from and definitely not a life that compares to the life of the Messiah. Would anyone respect a 50 yr old man who married to a 6 yr old and who did all these things today? How would he be dealt with today? They always say Islam is the religion of peace and like to use the term “Peace be upon him” but Islam is really the religion of violence and deception (Taqiyya) and they say Allah is the greatest deceiver. So they misunderstand the nature of God. Islam was spread by the sword which makes sense because it can only survive in an environment of fear and oppression. Anyone righteous person taking an honest and thorough look at it and being provided with all the information without fear of being ostracized from their community or physically harmed would come to the same conclusion. The only positives I see is that it promotes modesty and prayer but if you really read the Quran objectively it will point you away from Mohammed, the Quran and Islam to the Word of God.

 

Polytheistic (Polytheistic Hinduism, Shinto, Chinese Traditional Religion, African Traditional Religions, Indigenous tribal religions, nature or celestial based spiritualities) – 16.1% of global population (~1.25 billion)

I put all these belief systems in the same category. These are the people who worship any and everything, who are totally deceived and lost. Polytheistic Hinduism in particular worships millions of Gods. The people in general don’t even know the names of a small percentage of their so-called gods. You can literally just make it up as you go along. Then there are people who pray to animals or trees or stars or the wind. You have people who pray to their ancestors as if they can do anything from the grave. I see all this at best being large scale delusion and at worst being demonic deception.

 

Unaffiliated / Secular (Atheist, Agnostic, Humanist, non-religious) – 16% of global population (~1.3 billion)

These are the people who believe in nothing beyond the capabilities of their own ability to comprehend. I list this as a religion because you have to be dedicated to not believing. If the bible is the most widely distributed book and so much of it has been proven to be historical, you have to be really dedicated to not believing in anything to believe so many people gave up their lives and so many people made false reports of events in a time when even writing at all was considered sacred your word was all you had and society depended on it. If you don’t believe in the bible you shouldn’t believe in any history at all. Without a belief in a higher power you have no objective morality. Your actions are strictly based on self and what impact your actions have on you.

 

Non-Abrahamic Monotheistic Religions (Sikhism, Bahá’í Faith, monotheistic Hindu sects, ISKCON) – 2.5% of global population (~200 million)

These religions have a sense of the nature of God and promote moral ideals and behavior but do not recognize the true person of God.

 

Philosophical or Non-Theistic Religions (Buddhism, Jainism, Confucianism, Taoism, Stoicism, modern secular philosophies with ritual or ethical frameworks) – 8.5% of global population (~680 million)

These religions recognize the impact of our actions on one another and ourselves to some degree but are still centered on self and do not give glory and honor to God.

 

I stand by what I have said here. I believe every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess and the only way to the Father is through the Son, but I don’t believe that means your doctrine has to be right before the Son judges you with righteous judgement. I’m sure many will disagree with me. Some may be angry. Some may feel the need to defend or correct something.  If you disagree with anything, seek earnestly, do your own research and come to your own conclusion. I don’t want to debate with anyone, but if you have an honest question I’ll do my best to answer. Again, I think there are righteous people from all or most faiths regardless of whether I agree or disagree with the person, their faith or smaller matters of doctrine. There are those who earnestly seek to draw closer to God and those that are just going through the motions to fit in. Hopefully I inspire someone to get closer to God (יְהוָה) in Jesus (ܝܫܘܥ) name.

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